Cambodia’s scam industry linked to state-backed abuse
A report by Amnesty International exposes Cambodia’s involvement in its extensive scam industry, detailing how state security forces collaborate with fraud operations where victims endure torture and sexual violence. Agnes Callamard, the organization’s secretary-general, presented the findings in Bangkok on Thursday. The document, Official Business: Security Companies and Authorities at Scamming Compounds in Cambodia, describes an industry built on coercion, with guards enforcing quotas through physical abuse, rape, and electric shocks.
The investigation identified five private security companies operating at 23 of the 86 known scam compounds. Survivors described guards—sometimes numbering in the hundreds—confining detainees, punishing escape attempts, and participating in abuses. One Ugandan man reported that guards at a facility called PV01 beat him and used electric batons while his hands were chained above a water basin.
Callamard described the operations as a “sickening criminal racket” enabled by state complicity. While Cambodia has conducted raids shutting down scam centers, she said these efforts were “woefully inadequate,” failing to investigate security firms or hold perpetrators accountable. The compounds, she noted, are now transnational operations often involving Chinese and local criminal networks, yet Cambodian authorities have taken no action.
How Scam Compounds Operate with State Backing
Amnesty researchers visited 82 of the 86 compounds identified in earlier reports, collecting photos of guards that revealed company logos and uniforms. These were cross-referenced with survivor testimonies from 151 individuals interviewed over three years. The group also analyzed over 25,000 videos and photos from 222 social media accounts linked to guards, confirming their presence at the sites.
Analysts have long noted that crackdowns in Cambodia and Myanmar’s Myawaddy enclave were largely performative, aimed at avoiding sanctions from the US, China, and global financial monitors like the Financial Action Task Force.
Callamard plans to visit Kenya soon to warn about the risks of fraudulent job offers luring Africans to the region. The industry, which surged after the pandemic, relies on coercing victims into online scams under threat of violence.
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Security Firms and Police Ties Fuel Abuse
Documents reviewed by the group show security firms actively hiding their ties to the compounds. One company was linked to a senior national police official, while employment ads on platforms like Telegram and Facebook confirmed that former military and police personnel worked at these sites. Survivors consistently described guards enforcing confinement and participating in torture.
The report’s findings extend beyond physical abuse to legal culpability, framing the scam compounds as potential crimes against humanity. Callamard stated that corporate actors, including company owners, directors, managers, and individual guards, could be held legally responsible for their roles. One Ugandan woman alleged repeated rape by her boss, while a Kenyan man reported guards beating detainees on direct orders from compound managers.
The industry’s scale has made it a dominant economic activity in Cambodia, Myanmar, and Laos, with transnational fraud now rivaling nearly half of the GDP in these countries. A 2024 report by Harvard’s Jacob Sims estimated that scam operations in Southeast Asia generated $64 billion in 2023, surpassing legal sectors in some regions. The industry’s growth followed the COVID-19 pandemic, when fraudulent job offers lured victims from Africa, Asia, and beyond into coercive labor under threat of violence.
$64B Industry Thrives Despite Global Crackdowns
Despite raids shutting down many compounds, operations persisted elsewhere, with crime networks dispersing to new locations. In Myanmar, over 50 scam sites, primarily targeting the US, remain active, embedded in the civil war-torn Karen borderlands, where they avoid military strikes.
Amnesty’s report also connected the industry to broader financial networks, including Huione Group, a Cambodian company linked to the ruling family. Blockchain analytics firm Elliptic traced $24 billion in funds through Huione Guarantee over three years, positioning it as the largest online criminal marketplace in history. The US and UK responded in October 2024 by sanctioning Prince Group founder Chen Zhi and seizing $700 million in assets, later arresting him in Cambodia before extraditing him to China. These actions triggered a government crackdown, though Amnesty warned it created a humanitarian crisis by leaving survivors without support.
